Ancient Warriors - Warriors and Legends

Ancient warriors are the people from history, who fought and battled. Those people who would give their lives and fight for their country, state or tribe. These warriors of ancient times would be revered in their society, they would have a respect that no other would have, not even their king or ruler. An ancient warrior would be able to walk throughout their land with their head held high, should they survive long enough to reap the social rewards.

This is part is the appeal of the path of a warrior, and these ancient warriors were also aware of this. Of course in some places becoming a warrior was not an option, it was a necessity. You would have no option but to become a warrior to fit in, or you needed to learn to not only defend yourself but to kill should the need arise, to protect your family or friends.

Therefore when judging the ancient warriors of the past, it's important to not only assess them on their action, which was to kill, defend or injure their foe, but to assess them also on their reasoning, their motivation and why they did what they did. Some ancient warriors were one dimensional, some were multi-faceted, just as any other member of an ancient society.

The Viking warriors were the famously violent raiders who left no man alive in their wake, skilled with the sword and shield, the Viking warriors were capable of striking fear in their foes. Read more about the Viking Warriors >>

The Aztec warriors were vicious and ferocious fighters from Mesoamerica armed with their obsidian bladed weapons and ornate war costumes, the Aztec warriors were a true sight to behold. Read more about the Aztec Warriors >>

The Mongol warriors were some of the most loyal and disciplined warriors to ever exist, vast in numbers, skilled on horseback and perhaps the finest archers to have ever graced a battlefield. Read more about the Mongol Warriors >>

The warriors of Japan were varied and diverse, from the mighty rulers of Japan the Samurai, the mysterious ninja, to the warriors monks and hermits, and the dangerous Yamabushi and the Sohei. Read more about the Japanese Warriors >>

The ninja or shinobi were the mysterious and elusive masters of the silence and stealth, skilled in the 18 disciplines of ninjitsu, the ninja were both mentally strong and physically strong. Read more about the Ninja Warriors >>

The mighty Roman gladiators were the sportsmen of the era, bringing violent entertainment to the masses of Rome and its citizens, visitors and everyone else interested in this spectacle. Read more about the Gladiators >>

The range of ancient warriors

In every country, region, or part of the world there exists the ancient warrior. Whether in the north of Europe, in Scandinavia where the Viking warriors hail from. To the varying climates of Asia, where the Mongol warrior, the Chinese warriors and the Japanese warriors like the Samurai and Ninja lived. Moving to southern Europe leads us to the home of the Greek warriors, including the mighty Spartans famed for their battle hardened skills. And finally of course let’s not forget the brave gladiators that hailed from ancient Rome.

The traditions, the styles, and the clothing and weapons are different in many cases, but the mindset required to be a warrior would remain the same. The interesting thing about all these ancient warriors is just that the differences are what make them interesting. If you are to compare the weapons of the Aztec warriors to the Mongols, the difference could be not be more extreme. Look at the approach to fighting from the Germanic warriors and the Romans, the two could not be more different. The calculating and highly organised Roman warriors were trained to work as a whole. The wild and often considered barbaric Germanic warriors relied on brute strength and power to lead them to success. These differences, the slight, sometimes subtle or sometimes glaring comparisons are what we plan to cover, unearthing what made each class of warrior unique.

The weapons of the ancient warriors

One of the most interesting aspects of investigating the ancient warriors of the past is the diverse range of weaponry used. Each group had their own selection and choices of weaponry, often suited to their fighting style, climate and foes.

The Mongols for example were master of the bow, not only the use of the bow, but the construction too. The Mongol composite bow was so powerful for its size that compared to a traditional longbow it was smaller and more powerful. This is just one example of the unique weaponry used by the ancient warriors of the past, you only need to look to the ancient Aztecs. The Aztec weaponry was so unique, with no metal forgery they were forced to use the materials they had to hand. This meant the use of a volcanic rock called obsidian, which the Aztecs would use as cutting edge, creating weapons so unique like the Macuahuitl.

Ancient warrior armour

Of course going into battle was a risky occupation, even for a trained warrior who had already seen battle. Armour then of course was an option, a good piece of armour could save your life. This was the attitude of the Vikings who were not interested in heavy body armour but were very aware of the benefits of a shield. Other civilisations favoured traditional armour, like the medieval knights who rode into battle in full suited armour.

The respect of a warrior

Being a warrior in ancient times earned one a certain respect an honour. Of course most civilisation had their own orders and ranks, which their warriors would strive to achieve. Reaching the upper echelon of your civilisations military ranks often presented many benefits in your social and society status. In Aztec society mighty warriors were rewarded with many benefits, even given access to the royal homes.

The life of an ancient warrior

To live the life of a warriors required many things. Discipline, effort, training and comrades were all necessary to rise to the top, to improve your skills and ferocity. The old saying that iron sharpens iron would stand true for many of the ancient warriors, the better your comrades, the harder they worked the better you would also be.

In many cases also, becoming a warrior would not be an option. Being born into certain societies, like ancient Sparta would require you became a warrior it would be a do or die situation. In many ways these societies born some of the best warriors. If your society did afford you an option, then becoming a warrior was still an option many men would choose. The value and status attained by choosing the path of the warrior was for some to much temptation to resist.

In summary, for an ancient warrior life was a war. You were born, you trained, you fought, you trained. If you were lucky you survived, if you were talented you were heaped praise and status. This was the life of an ancient warrior.